There was a vote by acclamation to commend Michael
Scala for his contribution to SUNY Cortland as Vice President
of the Student Government Association (Passed)

The resolution from the Steering Committee regarding the
withdrawal policy was withdrawn by unanimous consent. (Passed)

IV. CHAIR�S REPORT:

M. King announced the names of the individuals elected to
serve on the Campus Governance Review Committee: Howard Botwinick,
Randy Storch, Andrea LaChance,
Joseph Rayle, Kath Howarth,
Susan Wilson, Glen Clarke, Ellen
McCabe, Laurie Klotz.� Chairman King reported that he would be
e-mailing those people to ask them to convene a meeting and elect a chairperson.

V. VICE CHAIR�S REPORT:

K. Alwes - No report.

VI. SECRETARY�S REPORT:

E. McCabe �
No report.

VII. TREASURER�S REPORT:

D. Berger - No report.

VIII. PRESIDENT�S REPORT:

The President gave a brief report.

IX. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

LongRange
Planning Committee� D. Ritchie - No report. (absent)

Educational Policy Committee� J. Cottone - No
report.

Student Affairs Committee� M. Connell, Chair
� Connell reported that the Student Affairs Committee will be working on the Faculty
Senate Scholarship and meeting with officers from SGA
regarding areas of concern.

Faculty Affairs Committee� G. Clarke, Chair
� No report (absent)

College Research Committee�
No report.

General Education Committee� M. McGuire,
Chair - No report.

Committee on Committees � E. McCabe reminded
everyone of the e-mail sent out by J. Barry regarding committee vacancies

M. Scala gave a brief speech involving his resignation from
the Student Government Association. The K. Boyes gave a brief report regarding
the approval of Seth Brown as Vice President
of SGA, participation in the search for the new Vice President of Institutional
Advancement, reduction of e-mails being sent to different groups on campus.
Anyone in need of student representatives was asked to contact her after the
meeting.��� C. Schacht reported that SGA
raised $65,048 last year from various groups on campus.

K. Alwes asked the Senate to recognize M. Scala for his
contribution to SUNY Cortland as Vice President of the Student Government
Association {SEE Senate Actions}

X. OLD BUSINESS:

There was no old business.

XI. NEW BUSINESS

The
resolution from the Steering Committee for Faculty Senate
consideration regarding the withdrawal policy, as distributed on e-mail, was
introduced by Chairman King and brought to the floor for informational purposes
only.� The Chair explained that the
resolution would be on the agenda for the next meeting as Old Business for
debate and vote. �The resolution was
withdrawn by unanimous consent. ��{SEE
Senate Actions}

Respectfully Submitted,

Barbara Kissel

Recording Secretary

The following reports are appended to the Minutes in the
order reported and submitted by Senators and other members.

Resolution From the Steering Committee For
Faculty
Senate
Consideration

When the proposal to allow students to withdraw from courses
until the last few weeks of the semester without receiving a grade was
considered by the Faculty Senate a few years
ago its proponents argued that it would allow students to explore new academic
areas without penalty. However, now that we have had a time to observe its
overall effects, we are convinced that this change has not been beneficial. The
number of late withdrawals has increased dramatically since the policy change
(see the accompanying data complied by the Office of Institutional Research and
Assessment). Here are some reasons why we believe this policy should be
changed:

1.�� We should be encouraging students to work
hard to be successful, and to seek our assistance to perform better rather than
quit.

2.�� The present policy tends to reduce the level
of academic seriousness on campus and is contrary to the values portrayed in
the College convocation and mission statement (e.g. �Our students gain skills,
knowledge and conceptual understanding in their discipline; furthermore, they
grow intellectually and acquire fundamental life skills and values�. �We strive
to instill within students a sense of responsibility��).

3.�� The practice of withdrawing from a course
merely to avoid receiving a low grade raises serious questions about the
validity of a student�s grade point average at SUNY Cortland as a measure of
academic performance for use with applications for employment and admission to
graduate programs.

4.�� Withdrawals create problems for the
completion of group assignments.

5.�� Students who sign up for a class mainly for
exploratory purposes may be taking seats away from those who need the course
and intend to stay with it.

6.�� Less affluent students who must rely on
financial aid are more restricted under the present policy than other students
because dropping a course may jeopardize their eligibility for that aid.

Therefore be it resolved that:

The present academic policy on withdrawal from courses be
changed such that students must receive the current grade earned at the time of
withdrawal (preceeded by a W) recorded on their academic record.